


Happy Bucky Quartet

by StuckySituation



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Fluff, Happy Bucky Barnes, M/M, Quadruple Drabble, happy birthday bucky barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 12:56:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18052895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StuckySituation/pseuds/StuckySituation
Summary: To celebrate Bucky's birthday on March 10th, I posted on my Tumblr four snippets of"Bucky having a happy birthday"in my various AU 'verses. Snippets won't make much sense if you haven't read the fics, but I hope these will bring some smiles at least to my user subscribers who are already familiar with the stories! :)Snippets are from...1. "How to Train Your Superheroes"2. "The Front Desk Soldier"3. "Best friends and married since childhood"4. "the happy stabby family reunion in the dementia ward"





	Happy Bucky Quartet

**Author's Note:**

> The second snippet (from The Front Desk Soldier -verse) has **major spoilers** \-- but I simply couldn't skip the Asset getting a birthday cake, plus I didn't want to make him eat it all alone, lonely and/or with fearful Steve in HYDRA base... so there's a major time jump from where the FDS is currently at. 
> 
> But I figured that's not too bad, since the whole fic is just such cracky silliness anyway -- there's a bumpy, cracky road to how they get to here :'D
> 
> \---
> 
> Happy birthday for Bucky, and hope these will bring smiles to you all! I had fun coming up with these ^^

 

 

**1. “How to Train Your Superheroes”**

 

 

“Awh, guys, you shouldn’t have--” Bucky starts to say, but gets interrupted rudely by the cake that explodes in his face.

 

_ “FOR THE BUCKY BEAR!” _ the Howling Commandos cheer in union and high five each others.

 

“You fucking bastards,” Bucky grumbles and wipes away the cream and crumbs from his cheek. “That teddy bear died months ago, are you never gonna let it go?”

 

_ “NO,”  _ Morita says and waves Bucky Bear’s paw at Bucky’s direction (Morita had saved it for himself ‘for luck’, and had insisted it was no less creepy than rabbit’s feet). “We’ll  _ never  _ forget Bucky Bear.”

 

“Sarge, how did we manage to get you with a  _ cake?”  _ Gabe says mockingly. “Do you think you’ve lost your touch with  _ Constant Vigilance, _ perhaps?”

 

“Hey Cap, why are you so quiet, you were so looking for this revenge-- Oh, fucking hell,  _ Cap!” _

 

Bucky looks at Steve, who’s flushing pink and tearing his eyes away from Bucky and his messy face.

 

Bucky smirks and puts his cream and cake covered finger into his mouth. “Mhm, maybe this was not so bad gift, guys. Stevie, wanna help get me cleaned off?”

  
  
  
  


 

**2. “The Front Desk Soldier”**

 

 

They’ve been on the run for two months. The work at elementary school canteen is not too bad… although, after all that time working with ‘Mr. Murder Beefcake’ and washing dishes, Steve’s standards are admittedly rather low.

 

He looks fondly at Bucky, who’s glowering at kids and ensuring that everyone takes their vegetables. Oh how far they have come from those days.

 

HULK lets out a meowl from the sideroom, and Steve raises the volume of the radio to cover the noise. It’s strictly against the rules to bring pets to school, but… they have to be ready to get on the road on short notice if someone finds them.

 

When their own lunch break rolls over, and all the kids have left the dining hall, Steve takes off his gloves and apron, and goes to hug Bucky.

 

Bucky wraps his arms around Steve and purrs (Steve is still not sure what’s up with that, but it’s too cute so he’s not going to question it).

 

“I’ve got a surprise for you, Buck,” Steve says and raises up to stand on his toes to plant a quick kiss on Bucky’s lips.

 

Bucky smiles (and oh how it hurts to think that not so long ago Steve didn’t see behind the awkwardness of that expression; how could he have ever missed that soft glint in his eyes?). “What is it?”

 

Steve lets go of Bucky, and goes to take his lunchbox from the fridge. “So, I was thinking-- Since we still don’t know your actual birthday--”

 

“We’re going to eat the cake now?” Bucky asks hopefully.

 

Steve narrows his eyes at him. “You’ve been snooping.”

 

“Yes,” Bucky answers unrepentantly and gets them spoons and plates. “Don’t get mad, it’s my birthday. Let’s eat the cake.”

 

Steve sighs. He has no clue when Bucky managed to do his snooping. It’s actually pretty embarrassing --  _ Steve  _ is the (ex-)spy here, after all, while Bucky is just a poor civilian who HYDRA kept as a prisoner and slave until Steve saved him. “Yeah, let’s eat the cake. Happy birthday, Buck.”

  
  


 

 

**3. “Best friends and married since childhood”**

 

 

“What do you want for your birthday tomorrow, Buck?” Steve asks, eyes on a plate he’s drying with the kitchen towel.

 

“Steve, we ain’t kids anymore. I don’t need anything for my birthday.”

 

Steve gives him a glare and slaps him with the wet kitchen towel. “I didn’t ask what you  _ need.  _ Celebrations aren’t only for  _ kids.” _

 

“Eh,” Bucky says and shrugs, and looks down resolutely at the newspapers he’s reading.

 

The truth is, he wants  _ so much,  _ but none of it is possible. He wants the looming war to go away. He wants for Steve to want him back like he wants him.

 

“Buck,  _ I  _ want to celebrate your birthday,” Steve says firmly. “So just… pretend for a moment that you’re a kid, if that helps you. What would you want to do? Just say it. Anything.”

 

_ ‘Pretend for a moment that you’re a kid’.  _ Bucky’s heart beat speeds up; there’s one particularly happy memory of celebrations from his childhood… the day the two of them ‘got married’.

 

Before Bucky can talk himself out of it, he blurts: “Let’s pretend we’re married.”

 

Steve freezes. “Uh-”

 

Bucky can feel himself flush all over. He hurries to continue before Steve can unfreeze and run out of the apartment: “I don’t mean  _ for real.  _ Just, you said let’s pretend we’re kids, okay? And I thought… things were simpler then. Like. Who the fuck has time to find a good girl these days? I just-- Can we like-- Pretend that this is it and--”

 

“You want to pretend we’re married.” Steve is staring at him. “What, you, you want me to pretend I’m your  _ wife--” _

 

“No!” Shit, shit, shit, why couldn’t he have kept his mouth shut. “I just… it would be--  _ not for real--”  _ He runs his fingers through his hair. Shit, how can he climb out of this hole?

 

“Okay.”

 

Bucky can’t have heard him correct. “Okay?”

 

Steve’s ears are turning pink. “I told you to ask for anything you want. So. Okay.”

 

“Okay,” Bucky repeats dumbly.

 

“So, uh, what did you… exactly mean with it?”

 

\---

 

It was actually really, really hard to explain what exactly he had meant.

 

Steve was getting frustrated when Bucky didn’t know how to articulate  _ ‘everything we already have, but like, with no worries for one day, and like how it felt in that playhouse years ago -- just, simple and right’. _

 

He should have just kept his mouth shut. He can’t say any of that without making things too weird.

 

Eventually Steve gets tired of Bucky fumbling after the words, and leaves to get groceries from the corner store.

 

Bucky rips one of the pages of the newspaper when he turns the page too quickly.

 

\---

 

Bucky wakes up alone in their room on his birthday, and he’s still convinced that he managed to fuck up things between them, at least for a while… until he spots a ring made of copper wire on the night.

 

With shaking hands Bucky puts it on his finger. 

 

After pulling his clothes on, he goes to the kitchen, where Steve is in the middle of making porridge for them.

 

There’s an identical copper wire ring on Steve’s ring finger.

 

Steve looks up at him. He’s tense, until his eyes find the ring on Bucky’s finger, and he relaxes. “Good morning. Happy birthday.”

 

\---

 

They don’t really talk about it all day, but that wasn’t what Bucky had wanted anyway.

 

It’s just an ordinary Saturday for them, really, except for the rings; they go down to the Farmer’s Market together to get fresh groceries, then take the long way back and stop by the bakery to buy a fruitcake. They spent most of the afternoon fixing the plumbing in the kitchen (and bickering about it), then listening to the game in the evening while eating the cake.

 

But somehow that’s all enough to make it the best birthday Bucky has had for years -- that Steve remembered their silly little rings from years ago and had gone recreated them and wore his own whole day, just because Bucky had  _ asked;  _ that they had spent whole, mundane day together.

 

\---

 

**2016**

 

“Bucky, what do you want for your birthday?”

 

Bucky smiles lazily and wraps his arms around Steve. “Let’s pretend we’re married,” he says mischievously and nibbles at Steve’s earlobe.

 

Steve is quiet for a moment and then says, “I have a better idea. Let’s  _ get _ married.”

 

It takes a moment to process through Bucky’s brains. “Wait, what? But… we  _ are  _ married?”

 

“I know, but… officially. For real.”

 

Bucky huffs. “Steve,  _ that’s _ how you’re going to ask me?”

 

Steve rolls over to face him, and smiles brightly. “I already asked you once, and had a real nice, long speech too, dunno why I have to do that twice--”

 

“Oh, so you’re too  _ lazy  _ to propose me properly, nice, what a heartwarming birthday present--”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**4. “the happy stabby family reunion in the dementia ward”**

 

 

“Happy birthday to me,” Bucky says in a deadpan voice and drops a bright pink gift bag on Natasha’s lap, on his way to the other couch where Steve is already sitting.

 

“Happy birthday to you,” Natasha answers just as flatly, and looks into the bag.

 

Sam narrows his eyes and looks between the two. “Can someone finally explain to me what’s happening here?”

 

Neither Bucky nor Natasha even look at him. Bucky relaxes on the couch next to Steve, puts his head on his shoulder, and keeps his eyes on the TV, while Natasha breaks into a smile and pulls out a purple My Little Pony out of the bag.

 

Steve and Clint glance at Sam, and then share a Look.

 

Sam looks back at them pointedly. He’s not going to get any answers out of the scary assassin duo, but sooner or later Steve or Clint is going to break. (Let’s be real --  _ Steve _ is going to break.)

 

Clint shrugs and fills his mouth with popcorn.

 

Steve smiles at Sam apologetically. “Sorry, it’s… not our story to share.”

 

“Usually I would be all about respecting privacy, man,” Sam says and crosses his arms. “But I’m gone from the Tower for  _ two weeks,  _ and when I get back I find these two hugging it out like no big deal. And now these ponies? Why is Barnes giving her  _ ponies?!” _

 

“She wanted a pony,” Bucky says like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

 

“But-- Why!? Is this some twisted apology for all those times you tried to kill her?”

 

“No,” Bucky says calmly, not taking his eyes off the TV.

 

Steve mouths to Sam  _ ‘Just let it go’,  _ but Sam is not ready to drop it so fast.

 

“Is this just a joke? Are you trolling me? Dude, you’re dedicated, that’s like, what, the tenth My Little Pony you’ve got her?”

 

“Seventeenth.”

 

_ “Why?” _

 

“Because he wants to spoil her rotten, that’s why,” Clint mutters. “Drop it, Sam. The more you know about it, the weirder it gets.”

 

Sam blinks and looks between Steve and Clint. “And you two are okay with this, uh, whatever this is?”

 

Steve smiles, wraps his arm around Bucky’s shoulder and kisses his temple. “Yup.”

 

“Nope,” Clint mutters darkly.

 

Natasha kicks him.

 

“Well, I’m  _ not!  _ Our bedroom is full of those ponies now. I hate them. This is not what I signed up for when I got involved with you, Tasha. I wasn’t warned there was going to be  _ ponies  _ involved.”

 

“You’re planning to break up with her over her hobby?” Bucky asks nonchalantly.

 

Clint gives him a dark look. “Barnes,  _ no. _ I already told you, no shovel talks.”

 

“Oh, you  _ told  _ me so?” Bucky asks lightly, his eyes still on TV, and casually flips his knife, which Sam is certain wasn’t in his hand a moment ago. “Don’t remember agreeing.”

 

Sam doesn’t understand  _ anything.  _ And Steve is just shaking from silent laughs and not explaining like a good friend would.

 

“Clint, stop whining,” Natasha says with a small smile. “I put up with your smelly dog, so you can put up with my ponies.”

  
“Smelly dog?! And you don’t  _ put up  _ with Lucky, you love him!”

 

 

 

 


End file.
